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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26019334">Past Mission Parameters</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabricdragon/pseuds/fabricdragon'>fabricdragon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Seven [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Multi-Fandom, Original Work, Schlock Mercenary (Webcomic)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>All Rights Reserved, End of the World, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other: See Story Notes, Parallel Universes, Possession, Science Fiction, Time Travel, War, brainjacking, do not copy without linkback and credit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 06:01:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,377</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26019334</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabricdragon/pseuds/fabricdragon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They were the 7th selected of 23, and one of only 12 to survive training intact: their mission? save the world.</p><p> </p><p>(with a nod to the brain hijacking technology of Schlock Mercenary, as well as several time travel and "end of the world" stories: see notes)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Original Character &amp; Original Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Seven [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1888519</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Past Mission Parameters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/mickie/gifts">mickie</a>, <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/InnerSpectrum/gifts">InnerSpectrum</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The soldier was the 7th  of 23 who had made the final selection, based on criteria he couldn't begin to guess at… And from the moment they were accepted their name was “Seven” and nothing more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seven was one  of the 12 who survived the training in usable condition, both mentally and physically.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now they were finally going to find out what the mission was: it had been that secret.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seven had been ordered in first, and alone.“Reporting as ordered.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seven,” The base commander nodded at him, “I expect you have been curious about the mission.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everyone is curious about the mission, Commander: the training was...peculiar.” Seven put it as diplomatically as possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This will be your last chance to back out,” one of the familiar scientists said, “We can probably find another use for you, but no one can go on this mission without being entirely voluntary.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We volunteered when we started,” Seven replied slowly.  After this much training and so much that was baffling at best, how could there even be an option to back out- assuming anyone wanted to?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are familiar with the enemy’s ability to...hijack our personnel?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I imagine everyone is?” Seven frowned, “Do you need me to recite what i know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No: you understand that the target is attacked by nanites which completely suborn the victim’s nervous system and upload a new… program, for lack of a better word.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” Seven gritted his teeth, “We lost most of my unit to what HAD been one of my friends.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A younger looking scientist that hadn’t interacted with them directly- had at best been in the background of a few tests - spoke up: “We managed to reverse engineer their nanites- or rather, Doctor Hu did, before he was killed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can we defend against them? Is… I’m getting a  defense?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” said one scientist , “in a way” said an officer and then  there was some silent  argument before the base commander stepped up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We are going to try to… use you- and the others- as... “ they hesitated, “You will be injected with our nanites and they will completely suborn your nervous system…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But not… re-write it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The younger scientist snorted, “If it works? Yes, it will completely take over everything and then YOU will be uploaded into a target.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It became clear suddenly, “turning their own weapon against them?” then Seven looked at the expressions, “So what’s the bad news?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s too late.” one of the scientists said gently, “even our best people have been poisoned with radiation, bio weapons have destroyed far too much and… even if we won tomorrow the damage is… “ they took a deep breath, “We will be putting as much as we can in long term storage, we had hoped to be able to … survive long enough for the biosphere to recover.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seven looked at the grim faces and then zeroed in on the newer scientist, “You don’t look like we’ve lost, and… you wouldn't be asking me to volunteer if there wasn't a mission, so get on with it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The scientist smiled sharply, “I always liked you, Seven: I hope you take it, and I hope you survive- you’re smart and fast and flexible.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We all are: anyone who wasn't is dead or insane.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doctor Hu and I had been working on a time travel project, before they were killed. The critical point is that the device is… unable to transmit MEAT, but it CAN transmit nanites.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seven’s eyes widened with realization, “You… want to send me- or an upload of me- back in time and try to stop this before we lose… I… Tthe stories you had us study about the past? The languages? THAT’S why?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That… is why.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of the other scientists frowned, “Most of us believe traveling into the past- changing anything- is impossible because of paradox: if it was changed we wouldn't send you, therefore… we didn’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The younger scientist gave the elder a look of disdain that senior officers strived in vain to master, “Which is why you get nine of them to fight your wars here, and give you time to put everything you can in cold sleep… and i get to ask three of them if they want to take a chance on avoiding this entirely and saving EVERYTHING.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seven barely had time to think of family, of friends, of all the losses, before saying: “I’m volunteering.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You might be throwing your life away for NOTHING, Seven.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“From the sound of it. I might be doing that if i stay and fight in the here and now- but if I take the chance? I MIGHT be able to do a lot more good: I’ll take that chance.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The younger scientist grinned. “Good, I wanted you; the other two are just a bonus- if they take it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not long later Seven was in a lab that looked like far too many other labs he had seen dissecting the dead- but with the addition of a great deal of very odd equipment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to inject the nanites in just a minute, Seven, and then… well, our test subject said it was painful.” They loaded the injector and waited.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So why did you send everyone else out? You told them it would be hours of prep time and obviously it isn’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That grin flashed across the scientist’s face, “Smart and fast… you’ll be done before they come back from talking to the others, in fact: here are the REAL facts...The nanites will EAT your nervous system as they copy it, painful doesn't begin to describe it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Still volunteering.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They will create enough nanites to upload you into several targets… and I will send those through in the hopes that one, or many, or all, will find a suitable host.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… not that much new here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have no idea if you will end up in OUR past, Seven, or in one of the multitudes of POSSIBLE universes: you could end up in a world where you DID succeed, and we never developed this technology… in which case you saved an entire world that would otherwise have died- just not this one.” they looked off thoughtfully, “Of course there is no way you will EVER know, since it’s a one way trip.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t the me that is HERE know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s the part they don’t understand, Seven: I don’t have time to let the nanites reproduce, harvest then, let them reproduce again, and so on… and frankly once we activate the temporal portal I am FAIRLY certain it's going to blow my lab to rather small pieces.  it doesn't matter: my assistant had the nanites for everyone else that will be remaining here.” they looked off thoughtfully, “I just think it's pointless- you are our one hope…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That smirk again and then they chuckled, “Or in this case, several hopes, but the nanites will strip mine your body for parts: there won't be a YOU left here to find out- this is a one way trip.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A one way trip several times over…” Seven looked around slowly, “It’s that bad out there? We… even when i was out in the front lines they didn’t tell us much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, it's worse than they think, honestly. Going to back out on me, Seven?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No: I’m in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They injected something and nodded, “These are your new mission parameters- there is literally NOTHING more important than keeping the biosphere in one piece… NOTHING.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, defeating the enemy is pretty important,” Seven said before the pain hit in a wave that obliterated conscious thought for… a while.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you don’t save the planet, Seven- it won’t matter if your enemy is dead.” they said calmly when Seven had stopped screaming long enough to hear again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t… the… war… winning...?” Seven panted, trying to understand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The scientist was shaking their head. “We ARE winning, Seven- or more precisely, we already WON: and it doesn't matter one bit because we’re dying alongside of you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>...Something had been important, but Seven didn’t have time to say anything before he was screaming again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then there was no pain, no thought, just a sort of crystalline waiting…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then they were  elsewhere, and elsewhen…and then they woke up.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this is about to be chapter 1 of a number of fanfics, set in different worlds with different characters.<br/>who will seven BE when they wake up? and how much of the person they moved into is left?</p><p>You are welcome to use this as a jumping off point for your own work AS LONG AS you credit me, and link back to this work.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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